Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford Transit Custom 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 78 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Ford Transit Custom were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (rear).

Summary

The 2021 Ford Transit Custom follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 39,982 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
78 in every 100
Did not pass first time
22 in every 1008,728 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 56,408 miles
First tests counted
39,982

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Windscreen wipers11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim9 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2021 Ford Transit Custom vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 8,725 of 8,728 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 465 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake pads, 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads

Failed on 55 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the headlight (front): 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 637 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

Headlight aim not tested (front)

Failed on 105 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.

Brake light

Failed on 273 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 50 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Wheel bearings (front)

Noted on 29 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Engine oil leaks

Noted on 271 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Seat belt condition (front)

Noted on 64 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
78in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
15in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 78.2% of 39,982 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 84.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 15 not fixed make the 22 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
40608010020182019202020212022Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 76 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201875 in every 10026,860
201977 in every 10039,945
202078 in every 10031,801
2021 This car78 in every 10039,982
202277 in every 10030,546

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2021 Transit Custom.

Of 2021 Transit Custom vehicles with under 35,000 miles, 84 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 82,000 miles or more, 73 in every 100 did.

Under 35,0007,886 tests
84
35,000–49,0007,956 tests
80
49,000–64,000 Typical car8,234 tests
78
64,000–82,0008,029 tests
76
82,000 and over7,872 tests
73

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 35,00049,000–64,00082,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)1.42.72.8
Windscreen wipers2.52.61.6
Headlight aim1.71.82.3
Brake pads (front)0.91.62.3
Headlight0.21.63.4

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

47in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

24in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2021 Ford Transit Custom follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (rear), about 11 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 78.2% of 39,982 first MOTs on the 2021 Ford Transit Custom passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 84.8%. Among 8,728 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) appears more often than on similar cars (5.3% of those tests; 465 observed failures; about 4.0× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2021 Ford Transit Custom at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (11.5%), Windscreen wipers (10.6%) and Headlight aim (8.8%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (5.3% of those tests; 465 observed failures; about 4.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (5.3% of those tests; 465 observed failures; about 4.0× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2021 Ford Transit Custom include Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Headlight (front), Brake light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2021 Ford Transit Custom (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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